Wednesday, July 27, 2022
An Accreditation Conference Update From the CAATE Education Committee
As the CAATE continues to grow and evolve, its approach to program education continues to evolve as well. The Education Committee is preparing for its third annual CAATE Accreditation Conference, Oct. 7-8, in Atlanta, Georgia.
In years past, the Committee has selected a theme and solicited speakers from the larger athletic training education community. This year, it has adopted a new approach, which stemmed from the Committee’s work to better understand accreditation conferences across athletic training peer professions.
Committee members compared and contrasted various approaches to conference aims and content delivery, and also analyzed and weighed the cost of accreditation conferences. This work yielded a proposal for a new conference mission, organizational approach, and registration structure.
The mission of the CAATE conference is to provide an engaged learning experience that ensures quality program delivery and promotes quality assurance, quality improvement, and innovation. To that end, each of the sessions over the course of the two-day program will be designated according to key areas of focus — quality assurance, quality improvement, or innovation — to help stakeholders better envision the goal of each session.
Quality assurance sessions will include educational content aimed at helping program directors ensure there is evidence of adequate performance associated with teaching, learning, research, and service, including the integrated way in which learning, practice, and discovery are fostered by institutions and their programs.
Quality improvement sessions will feature content geared toward the design and implementation of regular evaluative processes that improve standardization and structure to achieve predictable, academic results.
Innovation sessions will highlight ways in which program directors can design, implement, and support initiatives that advance academic quality and innovate program delivery.
In addition to the new mission and organization of the conference sessions, the Education Committee also changed how it selected sessions this year. Instead of a traditional call for proposals, the Committee sought session content by meeting with each standing CAATE committee to identify opportunities to develop (or provide) conference programming that improves the CAATE’s collective communication to stakeholders.
The Committee’s intent is to develop programming that serves stakeholders directly by identifying areas where programs were misinterpreting accreditation guidance and where the CAATE can improve in communicating accreditation expectations. As part of this initiative, the Education Committee recruited speakers who align with the current work of various CAATE committees and councils, as well as speakers who will address common questions and feedback the CAATE has received from programs.
The conference will also feature sessions that explore the CAATE’s approach to comprehensive peer review, and there will be sessions for program directors to learn how to better integrate standards within their individual programmatic framework.
The CAATE invites you to join the Education Committee and your colleagues for this year’s CAATE Accreditation Conference, October 7-8, at the Hilton Atlanta Downtown Hotel. Gain critical insight on how to implement and maintain AT standards through lectures, learning labs, and panel discussions curated by AT professionals and scholars. Click here to register.
Visit the New CAATE Website
The CAATE is excited to announce the launch of our new website! We’ve reimagined our entire online experience to be an even better resource for administrators, prospective students and athletic training professionals. Visit caate.net to view the intuitive navigation, easy-to-access important news and upcoming events pages, and the mobile-friendly design, developed to enhance the user experience.
Be on the lookout later this year for more updates! Coming soon — the CAATE Newsletter will be getting a new name and look too.
Congratulations to Initially Accredited Professional and Residency Programs
Congrats to the following programs who successfully attained initial accreditation during the 2021-2022 academic year.
Professional Programs
- Angelo State University
- Bowling Green State University
- Jacksonville State University
- University of Kentucky
- University of West Alabama
- Colorado State University-Pueblo
- California State University-Fresno
- Dixie State University
- Clarion University
Residency Programs
- Orthopedic Surgery and Sports Medicine Teaching and Research Foundation (OTRF)
- Parkview Sports Medicine
2024-2025 Fees Announced
Application fees for the 2024-2025 accreditation and reaccreditation cycles for professional and residency and fellowship programs are now available to view on the CAATE website. In-depth application instructions and fee breakdowns are available at the following links:
Save the Date: Upcoming CAATE Town Hall
Mark your calendars to join CAATE President Eric Sauers for our next town hall discussion on Thursday, Sept. 8 at 2 p.m. EST. Click here to register.
Volunteer Spotlight: Tamaria Hibbler, M.S., LAT, ATC
Many athletic training professionals get a taste for the profession in high school, whether from the guidance of the school’s athletic trainer or an introductory course. But, for Tamaria Hibbler, M.S., LAT, ATC, the thought of pursuing a career in athletic training hadn’t crossed her mind until she started playing soccer in college. She’s taken athletic training by storm.
An Unconventional Start to Athletic Training
Growing up, Hibbler, a self-proclaimed Army brat, attended Department of Defense Education Activity (DODEA) schools. Because of this, she never had the opportunity to have an athletic trainer in high school.
“My athletic training career began in a small town outside of Springfield, Missouri, called Bolivar,” Hibbler says. “In Bolivar, there is a small, National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division II school by the name of Southwest Baptist University (SBU) where I had the privilege of being a division II soccer athlete. It was there where I would meet and be exposed to my first athletic trainer and the athletic training profession.”
Hibbler signed up to take an introductory course and her interest in pursuing an athletic training career took off from there soon after meeting her collegiate athletic trainer. While she had concerns about participating in SBU’s athletic training program as a student athlete, the program was able to accommodate her schedule and allow her to start building a strong, educational foundation.
“SBU had a program that made the necessary accommodations to make it work,” Hibbler says. “There I was, able to build a strong foundation in what it was to be an athletic trainer and still get to enjoy the experience of being a collegiate student athlete.”
After two seasons of collegiate soccer at SBU, Hibbler made the decision to transfer to a larger university — Louisiana State University (LSU) — to focus solely on building a future as an athletic trainer. It was at LSU where she was able to gain invaluable skills and knowledge at the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) level that opened up new athletic training opportunities, including an internship with the National Football League (NFL) and invitations to work on multiple Southeastern Conference (SEC) and NCAA championships. It was because of these opportunities that she was able to graduate with an offer to attend graduate school at Michigan State University (MSU), where she was able to advance her learning as a newly certified athletic trainer, intern and be offered her first full-time job.
The Importance of Being an Athletic Training Preceptor
For Hibbler, who is now a clinical athletic trainer for the University of Arkansas’s football team, one of her biggest career motivators is the opportunity to teach the next generation of athletic trainers. For her, this is where becoming a preceptor was an important step in her career.
“I think that clinical athletic trainers who agree to be preceptors understand that the students we are teaching are the future of the athletic training profession,” Hibbler says. “Our profession depends on the generation that comes after us and what motivates me to continue overseeing new cohorts of students is that I want them to be seen as legitimate health care providers. I want to leave the athletic training profession better than I found it and to do that I have to give every student my best. If I am going to ask them to be their best, my involvement and dedication to teaching has to be reciprocated.”
While becoming a preceptor is not something every athletic training professional considers pursuing, it’s a role that Hibbler believes is valuable and a part of the profession that has greatly evolved over the years.
To keep evolving the profession and the athletic training preceptor role, Hibbler encourages current and future preceptors to become involved with the CAATE.
“I would tell athletic training preceptors looking to become more involved in the profession and within the CAATE that as a preceptor, we are not just one of the CAATE’s stakeholders, we are one of the CAATE’s largest assets,” Hibbler says. “The CAATE wants to hear from preceptors and values the skill, experience and knowledge that preceptors bring to athletic training students, programs and the profession.”
A Passion for DEI
Currently, Hibbler serves on the CAATE’s Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Leadership Development (DEI&LD) Committee. It is a volunteer experience she has a vested interest in after participating in research around diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) and serving as a DEI facilitator at MSU.
“I got involved with the CAATE because I realized it would be introducing a new committee that I had some general interest in,” Hibbler says. “I knew that if I had a passion for DEI work that I should apply to the newly formed DEI&LD committee because I would have the opportunity to impact two things I was really passionate about: DEI and athletic training.”
While she was hesitant at first to raise her hand and volunteer with the CAATE, the DEI&LD Committee became the perfect place for her to start her volunteer experience.
“I thought that the CAATE only used academic-based athletic trainers — like program directors and clinical coordinators — but I knew the DEI&LD Committee would be a perfect place for me to start my volunteering experience because the mission and purpose of the Committee was to recruit and develop the volunteers and leaders of the Commission with a deliberate emphasis on DEI,” Hibbler says. “What this meant to me was that this committee wanted to ensure that clinical athletic trainers like myself had an opportunity to learn and grow as a professional but also provide insight and input to the CAATE as a stakeholder.”
Thanks to the encouragement of her mentor and athletic training advisor, Tracey Covassin, Hibbler has been working with fellow DEI&LD Committee members on various initiatives, including one related to volunteer recruitment.
“One initiative of the DEI&LD Committee I am the most excited about is being involved with the process of helping other CAATE committees vet and find new volunteers,” Hibbler says. “I feel that finding ways to make the application process more inclusive will allow more preceptors that are clinical athletic trainers like myself to have the opportunity to be more involved in CAATE committees, events and volunteer opportunities. Taking the extra time to evaluate where we are now and saying we can be better was something I really enjoyed and I can’t wait to see what new faces we can bring onto CAATE in the future.”
A Rewarding Career
When reflecting on her athletic training career so far — between the opportunities she had as a student to working on the CAATE DEI&LD Committee and everything in between — Hibbler says it’s all been rewarding as she’s been able to take on challenges and grow from them.
“I think the most rewarding part of my career so far has been taking on new challenges that I never thought I’d be able to do,” Hibbler says. “When I first came to college, I never thought I’d be able to do athletic training and be a student athlete, but I did. I never thought that I’d get to work in the NFL, but I did. I never thought I would go to graduate school and juggle teaching and being a clinical athletic trainer, but I did. I never thought I would manage working full time and work on a doctorate, but I am doing it right now. I never thought that as a clinical athletic trainer I would be on a CAATE committee, but I am. I think that accomplishing things I never thought I’d accomplish has motivated me to keep going and keep doing my best, and it’s all been rewarding.”
For Hibbler though, it really comes down to the people and the work she gets to do with others.
“I am a people person, which is why I became an athletic trainer, and it’s really been an experience getting to meet and build relationships with people that impact your life for years to come,” Hibbler says. “The big ‘wow’ moments for me are seeing one of my athletes I did rehab with graduate from college, getting a handwritten note from a former athletic training student that I was a preceptor for, seeing one of my old students get their first full-time job, and getting a call from a mentor asking if I’d like to collaborate on an article. All these things stand out to me because at the end of the day, I am building and growing relationships with people.”
Apply or Nominate a Peer for the 2022 CAATE Awards
The CAATE invites you to apply or nominate a peer for the 2022 CAATE Awards. The CAATE will present the Bob & Lynn Caruthers Service Award and Pete Koehneke Award at the 2022 Accreditation Conference this fall in Atlanta, Georgia. Both awards recognize commitment to excellence in athletic training education. Learn more about each award and submit your nomination by Sunday, Aug. 21.
Bob and Lynn Caruthers Award
This award will be given to an individual that demonstrates the character and performance traits Bob and Lynn Caruthers displayed in their respective careers. Both Bob and Lynn demonstrated significant and distinguished service to professional and specialized accreditation, and excellence when working directly with constituent institutions.
Nominees should demonstrate a clear and consistent record of excellence in service to athletic training accreditation and the CAATE. Emphasis must be placed on the delivery of quality accreditation services to accredited programs and the institutions that house them.
Submit a nomination for the Bob and Lynn Caruthers Award.
The Pete Koehneke Award
The Pete Koehneke Award honors an outstanding leader who has made significant, ongoing contributions of exceptional value to athletic training education and accreditation over a sustained period of service.
Any individual associated with athletic training education or institutions and organizations that sponsor CAATE accredited programs is eligible to submit a nomination for this award. A minimum of 20 years of service to athletic training education or accreditation is required to be considered for the award.
Submit a nomination for the Pete Koehneke Award.
Additional information regarding these awards and the submission and selection processes can be found on the CAATE website. Contact the CAATE if you have any questions.
AT Each Moment: A Resource for Prospective Athletic Training Students
Developed by the Association for Athletic Training Education (AATE), AT Each Moment is a new resource for prospective athletic training students. Designed to assist those interested in pursuing a career in athletic training, AT Each Moment provides information on the wide variety of career pathways for athletic trainers, advanced degree and program opportunities and insights into finding programs that match the needs of prospective athletic trainers.
The website also includes information for athletic training program advisors on various topics — such as ways to help advance the profession, tips for advising the next generation of students and an FAQ section — to assist them in sharing industry insights with current and future students.
The CAATE encourages program directors to visit https://ateachmoment.com/ to learn more.
Updates From the National Athletic Trainers' Association Research and Education Foundation
The National Athletic Trainers’ Association (NATA) Research and Education Foundation recently announced an additional grant funding opportunity, as well as their writing contest and scholarship deadlines. High-level information on each of these announcements can be found below. For additional information and questions, reach out to the NATA Research and Education Foundation staff at fndnstaff@nata.org.
The NATA Foundation Announces an Additional 2022 Masters Student Research Grant Funding Opportunity
The NATA Foundation Will Accept Entries for the DeLoss Brubaker Student Writing Contest Fall 2022 – Feb. 1, 2023
- Athletic training students enrolled in professional programs are eligible to participate in the following categories of submission:
- Original Research ($500)
- Literature Review ($250)
- Case Study ($250)
- Awardees will be announced in spring 2023
- More information can be found on the NATA Foundation’s website starting in September: https://www.natafoundation.org/education/writing-contest/
Applications for 2023 NATA Foundation Scholarships Will be Accepted November 2022 – Jan. 15, 2023
Upcoming Dates
Sept. 8 – CAATE Town Hall at 2 p.m. EST
Oct. 7-8 – CAATE Annual Accreditation Conference